Bukalo Primary School

This is Bukalo Primary School. There are about 550 learners at the school, from grade 0 to grade 7. The classrooms are arranged around a rectangle of sand, although the grass has grown a lot recently with the rain. People are clearing the grass out of the sand, as the grass hides harmful creatures, such as snakes. In the middle of the rectangle is the flagpole for raising the Namibian flag in assembly on Mondays, and also the water tap from which the learners get their water to drink throughout the day.

 

The classrooms are mostly built of brick, but there are three classrooms made of very hard mud (called the ‘muddy classrooms’) which no-one likes to learn in, as they are very dark inside (there is no electricity) and the floor is just a dirt floor which is very dusty. 

Many of the desks and chairs are broken and waiting to be repaired, but the soldering tool to mend them is waiting for a grinder. So many learners do not have a chair or a desk. Many of them share a chair with another learner.

The government runs a ‘feeding programme’. They provide sacks of a type of grain which can be cooked to make something like porridge called ‘pap’. It is for the children who are registered as OVCs, which stands for 'Orphans and Vulnerable Children' - it is not for everyone. There are many sacks of pap at Bukalo, but there is no-one to cook it, so the children have not been able to have any yet. There are two very large pots to cook a large amount.

Here are the school toilets, a few hundred metres away from the classrooms and offices. The building on the left of the tree has four separate toilets for the staff. You need a key to get in, as they stay locked. The building on the right of the tree is the one the learners use.